Hatch Warren & Beggarwood Cycling Club
On 1st April 2017, 14 members of the Hatch Warren and Beggarwood Cycling Club (HWBCC) rode part of one of the most famous and epic cycling ‘sportives’ around: the Tour of Flanders, in Belgium.
The 147km (89mile) circular route from the picturesque town of Oudenaarde in the Flemish Ardennes was a challenge to all of the riders in some respect or another: whereas most will have done a similar distance, the cobbled roads (‘pavé) throw up an additional challenge. Added to that two dozen sharp hills totalling of (x) metres of climbing, with the steepest hill maximum 20% gradient, and sharing the road with 16,000 other riders.
I joined HWBCC only 18 months ago, after a 25-year hiatus in cycling. I started on slower-paced, short rides on a hybrid moving to buying road bike which allowed me to join longer and hillier rides, at a higher speed, in larger groups. However, I’d never done more than 25 miles in one go.
When I was asked to join the club in Flanders back in November I immediately thought: “I can’t do that!” Over a period of a few weeks my fellow club members persuaded me, by showing me such support and confidence in my ability. Over the winter months I increased the number of miles a week and distance of rides. The participants also arranged some unofficial, longer training rides of up to 70 miles.
We all traveled to Calais on the Friday before, and then on to Ghent, where we were staying at what used to be a monastery. The next morning at 6:30 we all set off to drive to the starting point, about 30km away.
When the time came to actually cross the start line I had a bit of a ‘wobbly’. I thought to myself: “What am I doing here? It’s full of fit people who seem to know what they’re doing. I can’t do this”.
However, I did start, and with the help of three fellow club members who stuck with me and supported me the whole time, together with the enthusiastic encouragement of the spectators lined along the route, I managed to complete the whole distance in just under 9 hours. All of our Club participants finished the ride, with times ranging from 6 to 7.5 hours.
The Ronde van Vlaanderen is a wonderful experience on many keen cyclists’ bucket list. I’m glad and proud to say that I have done it – and can honestly say that without this great community Club’s support and encouragement I would have never attempted it. Anousjka Selders
Future events: On Saturday May 20th, the club are organising a couple of routes down to Winchester where we will be given breakfast as part of Christian Aid’s ‘Bike to Brekkie’ campaign. The two routes will provide a shorter and longer distance with an expected arrival time at Winchester Cathedral for around 10.00am. Setting off from St Mark’s School at 8am, we’d welcome any riders to join us. Event details can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/855653687906075/
